Skift’s Top Travel Startups to Watch in 2017

“Here are innovative young travel companies, from Medellín to Beijing, that are poised to achieve escape velocity.”

— Sean O’Neill

This list is Skift’s first attempt at spotlighting the most impressive new or little-known travel startups worldwide. (It’s also our first shot at trolling Silicon Valley.)

We are drawing on the knowledge we have gained through five years of coverage of hundreds of newly launched travel companies.

Our list of 17 top startups in 2017 spotlights a mix of consumer and business-to-business models, with a few that derive revenue from both.

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Freebird

Boston, Mass.Like an on-call airline gate agent
If a traveler’s flight is canceled or significantly delayed, Freebird promises to rebook them on any airline at no additional cost. It offers a limited consumer service on its website. But this company, which has ten full-time employees and which has raised $3.5 million, emphasizes sales of its services via travel management companies. Casto Travel and Corporate Traveler are adding its service by May, and more than ten other companies are in the pipeline.